Audi's new luxury hauler might steer you away from buying a 5 Series Touring or an E-Class Estate.
Audi is certainly not wasting any time as after introducing the A6 Sedan about a month ago, the folks from Ingolstadt are now ready to roll out the more practical A6 Avant. We would take the wagon over the sedan any day of the week (and twice on Sunday) as it features everything that’s great about the sedan, plus a more spacious trunk big enough for the whole family. The desirable body style is not just practical, but also quite sleek as the version fitted with the entry-level engine has a drag coefficient of just 0.27.
Speaking of which, the luggage compartment can hold 565 liters (20 cubic feet) with the rear seats in place, but if you really need to transport something more voluminous, you can fold down the 40:20:40-split bench to expand cargo capacity to 1,680 liters (59.3 cubic feet). As standard, the new A6 Avant benefits from an electrically operated tailgate (and luggage compartment cover). At an additional cost, there’s the option of a sensor control allowing owners to open the tailgate without having to use their hands.
To boost practicality furthermore, Audi will install a rail system as standard, along with a net, two hooks, and a tensioning strap. Those willing to spend extra can opt for the load-securing kit encompassing a telescopic bar and straps granting users the possibility to create customized sections of the trunk area.
The good news continue as the rest of the cabin is roomier than that of the old A6 Avant, providing superior front and rear elbow room as well as more knee room for passengers sitting in the back compared to segment rivals. It packs the same high-tech dashboard with dual touchscreens (10.1-inch and 8.6-inch displays) and a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster as seen in the A6 Sedan from where the wagon has inherited virtually everything.
All engines are fitted with a mild hybrid system and are hooked up to a seven-speed S tronic or an eight-speed tiptronic linked to the Quattro all-wheel-drive system. An optional sport differential can transfer the power between the rear wheels during cornering, while the advanced coasting function allows the luxury wagon to coast at speeds of up to 99.4 mph (160 kph) with the engine turned off.
There are lots of ways to increase the final price of a new 2019 Audi A6 Avant, from large 21-inch wheels and an S line sport package to a head-up display and a 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system.
The Audi A6 Avant will go on sale in the near future, but there’s no word at the moment regarding a launch in the United States where the only wagon currently available is the rugged A4 Allroad.
Source: Audi
Avant-garde: the new Audi A6 Avant
- Striking design, spacious interior and excellent adaptability
- Powerful engines with mild hybrid system
- Suspension options from comfortable to agile, dynamic all-wheel steering optional
- Navigation, infotainment and driver assistance systems – fully connected
The new Audi A6 Avant combines dynamic design with superb everyday utility and excellent adaptability. The rear has a striking design, yet offers a flexible luggage compartment concept with 565 to 1,680 liters (20.0 – 59.3 cu ft) of capacity. The drive and suspension are designed with comfort and sportiness in mind. The standard mild hybrid system boosts efficiency while the dynamic all-wheel steering enhances maneuverability and agility. With its intuitive operation, the fully digital MMI touch response operating system offers a high level of convenience for driver and passengers.
Aesthetics and functionality – the exterior design
Attractive station wagons go by the name of Avant – the new A6 Avant continues this aspiration of the Audi brand. With sharp lines, large surfaces and the distinctive low-profile rear window, the exterior design reflects new design language of the brand. At just under five meters (16.4 ft) long, the Avant exudes elegance, sportiness and sophistication with its long front end and gently sloping roofline.
A wide, low Singleframe grille dominates the front, while the elongated silhouette and trapezoidal window surfaces dominate the side view. Distinctively shaped blisters, which visually emphasize the quattro drive, extend over the wheel housings. The muscular roofline flows into the low-profile D-pillar. The roof edge spoiler extends the silhouette and underlines the sporty look of the A6 Avant. At the rear, a decorative trim provides a link between the lights. In addition to the twelve paint colors, customers can choose from the optional sport and design exterior equipment lines as well as the S line exterior package.
Inviting – body, spaciousness and luggage compartment
The new Audi A6 Avant is 4.94 meters (16.2 ft) long, 1.89 meters (6.2 ft) wide and 1.47 meters (4.8 ft) high. Its interior is even larger than on the predecessor model. It beats the competition with front and rear elbow room as well as with knee room in the rear seat area.
Despite the sporty lines, the new A6 Avant retains the spacious luggage compartment capacity of its predecessor. The luggage compartment provides a loading width of 1,050 millimeters (3.5 ft) and a capacity 565 liters (20.0 cu ft) in the basic configuration, increasing to 1,680 liters (59.3 cu ft) with the backrests folded down. The tailgate and the luggage compartment cover open electrically as standard; an optional sensor control is available for the tailgate. The rear seats can be folded 40:20:40 as a standard.An electric release function is available for the optional trailer hitch.
The luggage compartment is equipped with the proven rail system as a standard. Customers can individually position four variable lashing points to secure objects. The A6 Avant also includes a tensioning strap, a net and two hooks. The optional load-securing kit with telescopic bar and strap allows individual sectioning of the luggage compartment.
The new A6 Avant is at home on long journeys, also thanks to the low interior noise level. The aerodynamics and aeroacoustics are top-class; the drag coefficient of the entry-level engine, which will go on sale after the market launch, is 0.27. The body made of steel and aluminum components offers extraordinary rigidity.
Safety first – lighting technology and driver assistance systems
The A6 Avant comes with a comprehensive package of safety systems, including lighting technology, assistance systems and passive safety. LED headlights are standard on the new Audi A6 Avant. Three versions are available, with the HD Matrix LED headlights with high-resolution high beam as the top-of-the-line version. Five horizontal lines draw the daylight running light signature with this option. The dynamic turn signal and the pulsating coming-home and leaving-home sequences emphasize the distinctive character of the A6 family. The optional contour ambient lighting package brings the interior design specifically to life.
With frequent drivers and commuters in mind, the A6 Avant provides an extensive range of driver assistance systems, divided into the “City” and “Tour” packages. In addition to the standard emergency braking assist Audi pre sense front, the driver assistance systems also include adaptive cruise assist with narrowed road assist. It supports longitudinal and lateral control in stop-and-go traffic right down to a standstill and at driving speeds up to 250 kilometers/hour (155.3 mph) and supports the driver by accelerating and braking. The assistance function also helps maintain the set speed and the distance to the vehicle ahead in congested traffic as well as in narrow situations.
For the additional efficiency assistant function, the adaptive cruise assist predictively factors in speed limits, bends, roundabouts and – if route guidance is active – also turnings as part of the cruise control function. Besides the predictive information in the instrument cluster, the efficiency assistant also provides haptic feedback via the active gas pedal. Together with the MHEV system, these assistance functions can help promote fuel economy.
Emergency assist enhances safety by recognizing when the driver fails to act and providing a visual, acoustic or haptic warning. If the driver fails to respond, the system takes over, turns on the hazard warning lights and automatically brings the A6 to a stop in its own lane. The system activates Audi pre sense protection measures, such as seat belt tensioning, window closing, and automatically makes an emergency call.
Five functions support the driver in urban traffic: Crossing assist detects critical crossing traffic in front of the car; the Audi pre sense 360° system detects collision hazards; rear cross traffic assist monitors slow reversing, such as exiting a parallel parking space. Exit warning and lane change warning supplement the package.
These functions are managed in an Audi high-end module, which is fitted in the new A6 Avant as a standard: the central driver assistance controller, which continuously computes a differentiated image of the car’s surroundings. To do this, depending on the equipment level, it uses data from as many as five radar sensors, five cameras, twelve ultrasonic sensors and the laser scanner.
Efficient and powerful – all engines with mild hybrid technology
All engines are fitted as standard with a mild hybrid system, which further increases comfort and efficiency and can reduce fuel consumption in real-world driving. The belt alternator starter, the heart of the MHEV system, recovers up to 12 kW with the 48 V system during braking and feeds the electricity into a separate lithium-ion battery. With the engine switched off, the new Audi A6 Avant can coast between 55 and 160 km/h (34.2 – 99.4 mph); the start-stop already kicks in at 22 km/h (13.7 mph).
The engines put their power onto the road with a seven-speed S tronic or an eight-speed tiptronic and the quattro all-wheel drive. The optional sport differential that actively distributes the power between the rear wheels when cornering at speed provides the ideal complement.
Comfortable and agile like never before – the suspension
The suspension on the new A6 Avant offers an even larger spread between dynamics and comfort than its predecessor. The standard progressive steering is highly comfortable to use. With an already sporty steering ratio, it becomes increasingly direct with increasing steering angle. The new control concept for the electromechanical steering also provides intense feedback from the road while eliminating unpleasant jolts from the steering wheel.
Audi offers the dynamic all-wheel steering as an option, which makes the A6 Avant highly maneuverable. At speeds up to 60 km/h (37.3 mph), the rear wheels turn as much as five degrees in the opposite direction. This reduces the turning circle of the nearly five-meter long (16.4 ft) Avant by up to one meter (3.3 ft) to 11.1 (36.4 ft) meters. Whether parking, maneuvering or driving in urban traffic – you do not notice the size of the A6 Avant in everyday situations. The dynamic all-wheel steering also increases agility in corners and driving stability at higher speeds above 60 km/h (37.3 mph). In this situation, the front and rear axles steer in the same direction to enhance stability.
Customers have a choice of four suspension variants: the standard steel-spring suspension, the sport suspension, the suspension with shock absorber control and the adaptive air suspension, also with controlled shock absorbers. In addition to the shock absorbers and the air springs, the electronic chassis platform (ECP) also controls the dynamic all-wheel steering and the updated sport differential, which actively distributes the drive torque as needed between the rear wheels during fast cornering. The driver can adjust the settings for all controlled suspensions in the Audi drive select dynamic handling system – in the modes comfort, auto and dynamic. The dynamic all-wheel steering varies its ratio and the degree of feedback, for example. The new Audi A6 Avant stands on wheels measuring up to 21 inches, which provide exceptional ride and noise comfort even at this size.
House beautiful – interior and equipment
The interior of the new Audi A6 Avant features stylish, minimalist architecture which fuses harmoniously with the operating concept. A black panel surface with the embedded top MMI touch response display dominates the sleek instrument panel. Just like the bottom display on the center tunnel console, it is angled slightly toward the driver. The horizontally oriented lines in the interior reinforce the impression of a large space where all elements relate logically to each other.
Depending on the customer’s wishes, the interior of the new Audi A6 Avant can take on entirely different personalities. In addition to the basic version, four equipment lines are available, each with its own color concept: sport, design, design selection and the S line sport package. The colors seem progressive and elegant, the materials – through to the Valcona leather and the trim strips in open-pore wood – are sophisticated, as one would expect from Audi. The S line exterior package is also available for all equipment lines.
The seats in the Audi A6 Avant were completely redeveloped. The top-of-the-line options include the customized contour front seats with numerous adjustment functions, optionally fitted with ventilation and massage function, as well as the S sport seats with integrated head restraints.
Other options include the air quality package with two different fragrances as well as the ionizer, the large panoramic glass sunroof and the adaptive windshield wipers with integrated washer jets in the wiper blades on the windshield and rear window.
Intuitive and logical – the MMI touch response operating system
The driver executes nearly all functions on two large displays in the MMI touch response operating concept of the new Audi A6 Avant. The driver manages infotainment and navigation on the top display with its 10.1-inch screen diagonal – if MMI navigation plus is fitted.
The 8.6-inch display below is used for climate control, comfort functions and text input. The driver’s wrist can rest comfortably on the selector lever while operating the functions. Thanks to its haptic and acoustic feedback, the MMI touch response technology is fast and reliable. The MMI menu structure is logical and flat like on a smartphone; the driver can customize the arrangement of many icons on the bottom start screen.
MMI navigation plus also includes the fully digital Audi virtual cockpit with its 12.3-inch screen diagonal, which is operated with the multifunction buttons on the steering wheel. The optional head-up display projects information onto the windshield. The natural language voice control turns the new A6 Avant into an intelligent dialog partner. It replies to commands and questions in two ways: with data stored onboard and knowledge from the cloud. The standard personalization offers up to seven individual profiles, allowing several drivers to store up to 400 settings from many areas.
Attentive and accommodating – navigation and Audi connect
The optional MMI navigation plus is the top-of-the-line component in the infotainment range for the new Audi A6 Avant. Its data transfer module supports the LTE Advanced standard and incorporates a WiFi hotspot. The navigation system recognizes the driver’s preferences based on previous journeys and generates intelligent suggestions from this information. The route is calculated online on the servers of service provider HERE and also in the car.
The Audi connect portfolio offers numerous online services, including several Car-to-X services. The optional Audi connect key locks and unlocks the new A6 Avant via an Android smartphone. The myAudi app connects the car with the owner’s smartphone. The Audi phone box supports telephony with the highly convenient Voice-over-LTE protocol. The Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System delivers fascinating 3D sound through a total of 19 loudspeakers, including in the rear.